Loving What I Do....

The process for Gunther the Underwater Elephant is now in its third year.  This won't come as a surprise to anyone else who writes and illustrates their own picture book. The process is twofold. The manuscript must be perfected and the illustrations must hit the mark with consistency and impact.
 It began as watercolor and ink ideas.

I decided to refine the sketch and move the action away from us a bit, to show more of each character.

The first job was for me to define the areas so I could concentrate on who was where in this entanglement.

Then some color and shading on about 5 layers in Painter IX and X. I also made a change in the leg positions.

Finally I added some seaweed and darkened the sea a bit.  The final will have text at the bottom and maybe a few more bubbles with more clarity.